Though pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cancer malignancy, resulting in nearly 37,000 deaths a year in the US, the pipeline has garnered less attention from industry and the investment community than other oncology indications. There are only two currently approved single agent therapies for this serious disease, but combination treatment regimens are showing tremendous promise yielding a significant increase in overall survival rates. With several phase II and III trials now in the works and positive readouts expected in 2013, the industry is becoming much more intrigued by this potentially underserved space. Hear clinical experts entrenched in the pancreatic cancer late stage treatment pipeline proffer their insights on the future of the disease.

Brian Klein, M.D. is a Vice President and Senior Biotechnology Analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Company. Prior to joining Stifel, Dr. Klein was a senior analyst at Lazard Capital markets, focused primarily on small and mid-cap companies. Preceding his career in equity research, he completed three years as a medical resident in internal medicine at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York and remains licensed and board certified in internal medicine. Dr. Klein received his M.D. from New York Medical College and also holds an M.S. in physiology and biophysics from Georgetown University and a B.A. in economics from Yale University.

Stewart Kroll became the Senior Vice President, Clinical Operations and Biostatistics in May 2011. Prior to that he served as the Company’s Vice President, Biostatistics and Clinical Operations since March 2007. Mr. Kroll joined the Company as Director, Biostatistics in January 2005. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Kroll served as Sr. Director of Biostatistics at Corixa Corporation from 2000 to 2005, and served in positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as Director of Biostatistics at Coulter Pharmaceuticals from 1997 to 2000. Mr. Kroll received a B.A. and M.A. in Mathematical Statistics from University of California Berkeley.

Peter Laivins joined Merrimack in October 2011 and serves as Vice President of Late Stage Clinical Development and Project Leader for MM-398 (nanotherapeutic-liposomal irinotecan), in Phase 3 development for Advanced Pancreatic Cancer. Prior to joining Merrimack, Mr. Laivins ran an independent consulting practice specializing in Oncology and Neuroscience. Mr. Laivins has also served as Vice President of Strategic Brand Management for ELAN BioPharmaceuticals. Mr. Laivins began his career at Pfizer, Inc. in 1985 and held positions of ascending responsibility culminating as Group Leader of Pfizer US Oncology Marketing. Mr. Laivins holds an M.B.A. and a B.S. in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada which is his birthplace.